Bob Marongiu was born in Switzerland of Sardinian parents, in 1976. He studied there until he was 11, then moved back with his family to Bonarcado, a little village in charming Sardinia with only 1,500 residents, immersed in the most valuable treasure for every living being: pristine nature and a peaceful, harmonious life.
This comeback to a village where nothing seemed to ever happen reawakened him as if branding him with fire, and was the lifeblood of his future life and artistic choices.
After finishing school, he got a degree in Languages, but he was not fully satisfied with it, so he also attended the Florence School of Fine Arts.
Influenced by the eternal clash between an uncertain present and the certainties of a different, better future, young Bob set sail looking for new experiences and realities.
However, he soon realized that the pace of life in the big cities was not in tune with what was still stamped into his heart.
A return to the simplest things that led him to his final choice: going back to his origins and becoming a self-taught painter, with his own cheerfulness as his only guide.
What led you to this choice?
I was really undecided, until I saw myself in a meadow with an easel, painting a colorful, relaxing nature free from any schemes.
You are specialized in cheerful subjects – smiling flowers, animals and plants. Why?
I believe it is essential to transfer to the canvas the peaceful feelings that I perceive in nature, and that ease any worries in me with their simplicity. Animals in particular inspire childlike, carefree feelings in me.
Your canvases often picture donkeys, animals that are sometimes labeled as symbols of stubbornness and ignorance.
Donkeys are among the animals that respect nature the most. They can tread trails with no need for highways, take you back home when you are lost, and they are lucky enough to never be in a hurry. They are basically an ode to slowness!
In full respect of nature, Bob uses water-based acrylic colors, and plans of making his biggest dream come true – creating a “flying school” in the middle of the woods, where nature and its beauties will be the best teachers.
